She said a meeting in Marinwood about housing issues the other day started out on a civil note as she made a presentation, but the session later was marred by catcalls, booing and shouting. "A number of people felt intimidated," the supervisor said.

"My 6-year-old grandchild who was there wondered why people were being so mean," Adams told colleagues at a county board meeting Tuesday. "We have a lot of work to do in this area" about "how to work together, to listen together," she added.

Later in the day, after a lengthy hearing on housing issues, Adams praised the audience for its civil behavior.

But county planning commissioners got a taste of crowd unrest Monday, when sheriff's deputies were summoned to maintain order at a housing session. Some were upset about testimony time limits, with one man calling commission chairman Wade Holland "Der Fuhrer." A brief bout of shouting ended without further incident.

Adams, facing a recall effort by constituents who contend she does not listen to their concerns, indicated Tuesday that hearing what people are saying is indeed critical. It is important, she observed, to remember "as my grandmother said, we have two ears and one mouth."

Stephen Nestel, a key foe of county housing plans, indicated later that Adams is the problem, not an audience facing "the prospect of intensive development." A video of the Marinwood meeting she described is posted at savemarinwood.org and "proves that most of the shouting came from housing advocates who were shouting down community voices," Nestel said. "I never hear Susan Adams complain of the housing advocates shouting down our community voices."

Nestel said that people are upset because they have been ignored in the planning process, and emotions are intense because "massive change is being proposed over the clear will of a majority." Adams "has avoided true open dialogue," he added.

"She must engage the public," Nestel conluded. "As Harry Truman said, 'If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.'"